5 Things to Know About Grand Junction’s 4th of July Parade

The 4th of July Parade in downtown Grand Junction is a great Independence Day tradition, and here are five things to know if you're going to the parade.

The parade only lasts for about an hour, so you should still have plenty of time for the rest of the day's plans to celebrate the 4th of July, so I hope you can come downtown for the parade.

PARADE BEGINS AT 10 am
The parade hasn't always been in the morning, but kudos to whoever moved it to 10:00 a few years ago. Of course, it's gonna be warm at 10:00 in the morning, but it's nothing like being out there in the sun during the hottest part of the day. The other nice thing about the early start is that it allows a lot of people to attend the parade and still have plenty of time to move on to other holiday activities.

PARADE STARTS AT 9th and MAIN
Just like the Parade of Lights, the 4th of July parade begins at 9th and travels west toward 3rd. The Lions Club Parade is the one that starts at Two Rivers Convention Center and travels the other direction. This is good information as you are trying to stake out your prime parade viewing location.

JUDGES STAND AT 4th and MAIN
There tends to be the largest gathering of people in the vicinity of the judges stand which is at 4th and Main. This is always where the parade announcers are stationed, which this year happens to be, me, Zane Mathews, and Caitlyn Love, the Marketing and Communication Specialist for Downtown Grand Junction.

FREE PARKING
Whether you want to park in the parking garage on Rood, one of the lots on Colorado, or a side street off of Main, parking will be free. It's a holiday, it's a special event, and there is no charge for parking.

50 PARADE ENTRIES
There will be approximately 50 parade entries in this year's parade including a couple of traditional crowd favorites the Vettes for Vets, which will include about 22 Corvettes, and the Western Slope ATV Association, which will feature about 25 ATV's.